So-Cal Rocket Dynamics Take Over the World
So-Cal Rocket Dynamics is a heavy "neo" rockabilly band from the Los Angeles Area. Thier catchy and aggressive sound was born in the west coast car culture scene and it falls neatly between rockabilly and psychobilly. They combine vintage guitar styles and blisteringly slapped upright bass lines, with punk and swing rhythms to win your rock and roll heart. With their recent release in tow, Antisocialite, the band has been capturing the attention of music listeners and critics alike. We caught up with Matt Britton and Bobby Coddington from the band, to dive deep into the group's inner workings. Take a read, below.
What is the inspiration behind the new album?
Matt - Mostly, I just wanted to go someplace new as a musician and songwriter. I was listening to a lot of Cramps, Dex Romweber and Jack White as I was writing new songs and crafting new guitar tones. That music is so raw and aggressively loose. I have a tendency to play and write a little too tightly, so I wanted to be influenced by those rougher players and those recordings. Our 2014 album, Too Bad She Won’t Live kind of defined a sound for us. This time I was hoping to go in with demos which were less rehearsed so that we might chance upon more serendipity in the studio.
Bobby - I started writing Antisocialite while going through chemo and radiation therapy for cancer. The first few songs were all from a very dark place, as I was sort of figuring out how to react to the situation. The song Antisocialite is written like someone is warning someone else that they are only going to cause them pain... and that they should stay away. This is an analogy for how bad I felt for my wife, as she cared for me wqhile I got weaker and weaker from cancer treatment. I did not want to be a burden to her, and I did not want to die on her... A friend of hers had died a few years back, and she was devastated, so I really did not want to do that to her. ...but yeah, a song like that would be too much of a drag, so I took that feeling and wrapped it into something a little more fun and dangerious sounding. I channeled my behavior from when I was younger and made it into more of a song of irresposibility and disregard. ...more romanitically rock and roll. The song No Reason Why was a response to a number of people asking or implying that I should feel angry or cheated by the fact I had cancer. ..They were telling me it was ok to feel that way. Telling me how unfair it was. ...but I didn't feel like that. I just wanted to handle myself honorably and be strong. I was pretty sure that I was going to make it... stage 3 colon cancer is something you can beat with a good attitude, doctors, medicine, and technology... and health insurance! ... but no matter what happened, I wanted my dignity. I hoped to be brave and graceful. (Spoiler... its been 2 years since treatment ended and I'm ok). One Last Flight was written to sound happier, because Antisocialite and No Reason Why were so dark... but it's a Trojan horse, because I wasn't flying anywhere. It was about being stuck in a hospital bed for weeks. I just took a story my brother-in-law told me about all the work-related travel he was doing, and mixed it will the monotony of being stuck in the hospital. That made for a nicer song that someone might want to sing along with. ...But yeah, it's about rotting in a bed, in pain, and weighing 150 ponds when you should be 190. Yay! (laughs) After chemo and radiation ended, and I started to feel better, I began to write more like the band’s previous albums, but trying to push the songs somewhere new, while retaining the sound we’d established. Matt writes in his own style, and we sort push each other to leave our comfort zones a little... to test the fences. It's fun.
What made you discover your passion for creating an eclectic sound of indie meets Rock?
Matt - It’s really a course which Bobby charted, and then I jumped aboard. When the guys asked me to audition for the band, Bobby and I were already friends, but I’d never played rockabilly before. I showed up rehearsed enough to get through three of their songs, and although I was obviously a rockabilly novice at that point (I honestly think I still am), everyone could completely see that the line-up worked and the four of us should play together. It gelled right from the get-go.
Bobby - I've always loved California car culture. The spring and summer classic car events, and the vintage-related clothing and music are wonderful to me.I love triplet based big band jazz... Cab Calloway, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Gene Krupa, all that stuff, ...the swing! Many will disagree, but to me, rockabilly is a just a few guys trying to make people want to jump and dance like the way a big jazz band would’ve made 'em want to. That energy! That beat! That power. So at the heart, I wanted this band to be a punk swing band... if that makes sense... and since there were so many amzing vintage style acts, who just nail the old school styles in every way, I decided it would be a modern sound that was undeniably influenced by music from the last century. The modern part would be heavier punk style drums from the 70's and 90's and big sing-along choruses and backing vocals from the 80’s. The upright bass is recorded acoustically and serves as the anchor to the vintage sound... that and how most our songs are triplet based and really swing. I'll let Matt talk about how he approaches the guitar, but it is undeniable vintage influences... you can hear the 50's, 60’s, and the 70's in Matt's playing.. or at least I do. He really pulls together decades of guitar in his own way.
What places in your mind do you channel to craft your songs?
Matt - I’ve spent my entire career in various forms of entertainment - television production, movies, visual effects, games, and music. That media immersion and my love for pop culture (something all four of us are into, as I think our songs reflect) helped to give me a real appreciation for good storytelling. When I was younger I tended to write about my own heartbreaks and such, but as I matured as a songwriter I became more interested in telling little fictional stories with my lyrics. They became little movies in my head which ultimately would be produced as songs rather than films.
Bobby - Some of my songs are cleverly re-packaged things that I actually went through. Some are just songs about movies I love, and some are just about attitude and making a song that's fun to crank up in your car and sing along with... just to feel bad ass... because aftar all... all the heroes are dead. : )
What are your favorite venues to perform at? and if you had to choose, do you feel more comfortable in the studio or onstage, and why?
Matt - Neither is uncomfortable for me, but I think the stage is more fun. I remember playing at the House of Blues and just having all the amenities - big stage, tons of monitors, perfect mix, huge lighting rig. It’s everything you could ask for. But conversely, we play some little punk clubs around LA that are just awesome - small and sweaty and crowded and a little dangerous. That’s how rock n’ roll ought to be. The studio is another world entirely. There, I’m really just trying to be creative, be original, avoid falling into familiar patterns and try to hold up my end of the band’s sound. Our Producer Matt Thorne (we call him the fifth rocket) is incredibly collaborative. I learned on the previous album that Thorne could come up with lots of interesting ideas which I wouldn’t find on my own, so on this album we really tried to give him lots of room to be creative that way.
Bobby - If it's a large show with lots of people watching, then I love it! ...if its an empty show at a bar, or worse, a large venue and no one watching, I'd kinda rather be in the studio. I love recording. I love that it's not just gone at the end. A recorded song is like a tattoo... that's how it went in. A live, and unrecorded show is romantic and exciting because it’s just there for the moment... and then it's gone, never to be reproduced exactly the same way... Some are good, and some frankly not, but yeah... I like to record and have those things to listen back to. To experiment and make it the best work you can do. It's all about balance I guess. I play purposfully sloppy at times live... pushng energy and feel above technical ability, but when recording, I try to play pretty clean.
How do you write your songs? What is the process like? Does it take you days, weeks, even longer? How does the perfect So-Cal Rocket Dynamics piece come together?
Matt - Really, it’s all over the place for me. Some songs come easily and those are usually the best. But others have difficult births and seem to take forever to come to life. I’m not nearly as prolific a songwriter as Bobby, so I’m often hunting around for new inspiration. I’ll listen to a new band, try a different guitar, loop a new beat, put on a capo - whatever gets my head and hands into a different space so that maybe something original will roll forth.
Bobby - For me, a song starts with a bass line... then I write a drum part to practice it to... playing the bass to the drums I'll start to babble lyrics... it is usually jibberish till a mood or sharp-sounding sentence blooms and seems to fit the tone or attitude of the drums and upright bass. This can take a few hours or a couple of days. Once the song clicks I'll write words, and make a complete demo of the song from beginning to end. Well, complete except I'm the one singing, and there wont be any lead guitar... I then pass that demo off to the rest of the band and they write thier own parts, or embellish/interpret what I demoed in their own ways. I never really work on the same song for days in a row, but I'll bet it only takes two days for each song to come together as a demo. I’m always putting in a few hours here and there, because I've got bills to pay. Ha! 
